Kitchens are an area where friends and family come to gather, so it only makes sense to be one of the places you renovate first. Sprucing up your kitchen adds life to your home, bringing in new colors and energy to a place you visit often.
When deciding what to renovate, your cabinets may come to mind first. It makes sense — according to the 2018 Houzz Kitchen Study, 82% of homeowners surveyed included cabinets in their kitchen renovations. Cabinets are key to a kitchen, providing vast storage and utility.
There are many possibilities when it comes to changing your cabinets. Trying to decide what to do? Read on to discover your cabinet remodeling options.
Painting your kitchen cabinets
Looking for a quick fix? No building is necessary and very little hardware is involved in painting. If you’re looking for a DIY project, cabinet refinishing or painting is the only option that is easy to accomplish yourself.
Refinishing or painting your cabinets comes with these benefits:
- Colorful options. When looking at most cabinets, you usually see only a few choices: white, black, gray and wood stain colors. For truly out of the box color options, painting is the way to get exactly what you want. Pink cabinet lovers, rejoice.
- Utility. Can’t live your life around a remodel? Don’t worry, as long as you aren’t painting the interior, you should still be able to use your cabinets while repainting.
- Big impact. Depending on the color you choose, you can create a real impact simply by repainting. Using a statement color can help your cabinets stand out, while going from a poorly-done woodgrain to a flat white can help your kitchen move into the current decade.
Before you start repainting, be wary of these downsides:
- Easy to make mistakes. Painting seems easy, but there is far more that goes into a paint job than getting a brush and going for it. Painted over hardware or bad brush strokes are easy errors for anyone to make. Shoddy work is apparent and may decrease the value of your home.
- Stuck with your colors. Are you still going to love those baby pink cabinets twenty years from now? Cabinet refinishing or painting is labor intensive and isn’t a task you’ll want to complete every few years. Once you pick a color, you’ll be stuck with it for a while.
- Can’t go too cheap. The last thing you want to do is grab the first gallon of paint and brush you see at the store. Picking cheap supplies results in a cheap looking job.
Cabinet refacing
If you don’t want to replace your whole cabinets but still desire a new look, cabinet refacing may be a good option for you. This process works by replacing the front door of the cabinets to match your new style and adding a wood veneer to the sides to match the door.
Some pros of cabinet refacing include:
- Less time and money. Refacing costs a fraction of replacing your cabinets outright and takes far less time to install. For the renovator on a budget, refacing is a good choice.
- Keep your layout. For those who only need to fix the appearance of their cabinets, refacing allows you to keep the layout of your kitchen without the need to move anything. No extra measuring or allowing for new cabinet space is needed!
- Eco friendly. Refacing prevents sending a whole cabinet to the landfill and instead only requires you get rid of the doors. Plus, you can donate old doors to a local DIY shop!
However, you will have to keep in mind some cons of cabinet refacing too:
- Stuck with layout. While this may be a pro to some, it could be a con to others. If you hate your kitchen layout, cabinet refacing will not fix the location of your cabinets. Only replacing can do this.
- Costs may add up. In order to get the exact right cabinet doors, you may end up spending more than you intend. That doesn’t factor in pulls, decor and any other extras too.
- Cabinets must be structurally sound. Old, decrepit cabinets are not ideal for refacing. If the bones of your cabinets are no good, a refacing job only changes the look of the exterior and will not make your cabinets last any longer.
Replacing your cabinets
If you need something entirely new, you’ll need to replace your cabinets entirely. A contractor can help you find the right cabinets for your home’s size and needs.
Brand new cabinets come with several positive features:
- Fully customizable. Do you want very specific additions and extras? Choosing your own cabinets means you can customize to your heart’s content.
- Long lasting. Since the cabinets will be brand new, they will last longer than simply refacing or repainting older cabinets. These will be a fixture of your home for years to come.
You’ll also want to consider these negatives of new cabinets before deciding:
- Most expensive. You get what you pay for, and new cabinets don’t come cheap. Be prepared to spend some extra cash to get exactly what you want.
- Longer process. Replacing cabinets isn’t done overnight, or even in a few days. It may take a few weeks for a contractor to complete a cabinet replacement, so expect to be in a construction zone of a kitchen for a while.
Looking to revamp your kitchen cabinets?
Contact Elite Renovations. Our contractors can help you create an ideal kitchen for your home, complete with your perfect cabinets.
